Things to learn the Rise of Christianity and the Fall of Rome (Packet 8 of 12)

1. Jesus of Nazareth

The central figure of the New Testament, and the Son of God according to the Christian religion, that usually refers to him with the title Christ (meaning Messiah). Indeed, the Christians consider him to be the Messiah spoken about and predicted in much of the Old Testament, particularly the book of Isaiah. The Western calendar is centered around his birth, though recent scholars believe that he was born somewhere between 7-2 BCE (BC) rather than in 1 CE (AD). The term AD stand for Anno Domini or The Year of our Lord in Latin. According to the New Testament, he was from Galilee, though born in Bethlehem to the Virgin Mary, preached as a Jewish Rabbi, was baptized by his cousin John the Baptist and eventually executed via crucifixion by the Roman Empire, specifically Pontius Pilate, around the age of 32. According to the tenets of the Christian faith, God cannot be in the presence of sin. Prior to the time of Jesus, therefore, it was necessary to sacrifice animals to cleanse humans of their sin. His arrival changes that, according to Christianity, as he lived a completely sin-free life and thus his death marks the perfect sacrifice, allowing humans to come to God through his death instead of the sacrifice of animals. The Christian church teaches that he rose from the dead three days after his crucifixion. Historians consider the best sources for researching the historical Jesus to be the synoptic Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke.

2. 12 Apostles

The most loyal followers of Jesus of Nazareth. They are listed in the three synoptic gospels – Matthew, Mark and Luke – though Luke’s list differs slightly from the other two. Many of them are mentioned in the Gospel of John, but there is no list accompanying it. Within the group of 12, there was a core group of four, two pairs of brothers. Simon Peter and Andrew and James and John. On the rare occasions that Jesus went off with only a few apostles, Simon Peter, James and John were the three that went with him, and therefore have been considered by some to be the greater apostles. In fact, some scholars break the apostles into three groups.

Group 1
Simon Peter
James
John
Andrew

Group 2
Philip
Bartholomew
Matthew
Thomas

Group 3
James of Alphaeus (or James the Lesser)
Thaddeus (called Jude in Luke)
Simon the Zealot
Judas Iscariot

The last group is mentioned much less frequently in the Bible than the others, with the exception of Judas Iscariot, who betrays Jesus to the Sanhedrin (Jewish courts). Judas Iscariot is replaced by Matthias in the Acts of the Apostles to bring the number back up to 12.

3. Judas Iscariot

One of the 12 apostles of Jesus of Nazareth, he is most noted for betraying Jesus to the Sanhedrin (Jewish courts) with a kiss, receiving 30 pieces of silver for doing so. At the Last Supper that Jesus had with the apostles, he is said to have indicated that Jesus knew he betrayed him. He tried to return the money, and then hung himself in a field. His motivations are unclear in the Bible, leading to speculation in the early church. Some claim that he wanted to force Jesus into a position of having to show his power as the son of God. One group now considered heretics, the Gnostics, praise him as a hero and the best of the apostles for setting in motion humanity’s salvation. However, most Christians do not view him that way. In his Divine Comedy, Dante famously places him at the center of Hell in the mouth of Satan along with Brutus and Cassius. Alternate accounts of his death, including the one in Acts of the Apostles, have his bowels bursting out as he fell into a field.

4. 30 pieces of silver

The price that the chief priests paid Judas Iscariot to betray Jesus of Nazareth. The phrase has come to mean the price of betrayal and is used in many literary allusions. It has even expanded meaning to selling out in general.

5. Pontius Pilate

The Roman prefect of the region of Judea from 26-36 CE, which makes him the prefect responsible for carrying out the execution of Jesus of Nazareth. In Christian texts, specifically the Gospels, he gets fairly decent representation, stating multiple times that he finds no fault with Jesus, and trying to avoid executing him. When the people insist, he symbolically washes his hands, demonstrating that it is not his will to execute Jesus. However, both the historical accounts of Philo of Alexandria and Josephus paint him in a much worse light. He is an antagonistic prefect, often mocking the Jewish religion and defiling Jewish custom. He is eventually removed from power for sending cavalry to attack Samaritans looking for Jewish relics at the foot of a mountain and sent to Rome to explain himself to Tiberius. Unfortunately for him, Tiberius died before he got there, and Caligula never returned him to rule.

6. Joseph of Arimathea

According to all four canonical Gospels, the man who donated his own prepared tomb for the burial of Jesus after Jesus' crucifixion. A number of stories that developed during the Middle Ages connect him with both Glastonbury, where he is supposed to have founded the earliest Christian oratory, and also with the legend of the Holy Grail. He is venerated as a saint in both the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. The non-canonical Gospel of Nicodemus has a further account of his actions after Jesus’ death, including his arrest by the Jewish authorities and miraculous escape from prison without opening any doors. Later, when Britain first came to Christianity, his name became attached to the Holy Grail, having used it to survive in prison and then having sent it to the British isles, according to legend.

7. Golgotha

A site just outside of Jerusalem where Jesus was crucified. The name loosely translates to “the place of the skull”. In Latin, that phrase is Calvarae Locus, which is why English speakers call the site Calvary. The hill got its name because it looked like a skull cap. Helena, the mother of Constantine I, identified the tomb of Jesus and claimed to have found the True Cross. Constantine then built a church on the whole site, including the presumed location of this hill, called the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

8. Josephus

A first-century Romano-Jewish scholar (37-100 CE), historian and hagiographer, who was born in Jerusalem—then part of Roman Judea—to a father of priestly descent and a mother who claimed royal ancestry. He is most known today because he documented the existence of Jesus of Nazareth in his Antiquities of the Jews, making him a source, outside of the Gospels, confirming that a man by that name existed. He also has an account of the arrest and execution of John the Baptist. He initially fought against the Romans during the First Jewish–Roman War as head of Jewish forces in Galilee, until surrendering in 67 CE to Roman forces led by Vespasian after the six-week siege of Jotapata. Because he pointed to prophecies that led to Vespasian being emperor, Vespasian decide to spare him and keep him as a slave and translator. He became close to Vespasian and was eventually set free, He eventually became a Roman citizen and an advisor to Vespasian’s son Titus.

9. Acts of the Apostles

The fifth book of the New Testament; it tells of the founding of the Christian church and the spread of its message to the Roman empire. It was written between 80-90 CE along with the Gospel of Luke, by the same author, and was intended to be read together. Luke address both books to Theophilus (friend of God). The main purpose of the work is to show how what started as a movement in the Jewish religion, spread to the non-Jews after the Jews rejected it. Thus, making Christianity a predominantly non-Jewish religion. It also tells of the Ascension of Christ, the early church under St. Peter and the conversion of St. Paul.

10. Saint Peter

The most outspoken, often, of the twelve disciples of Jesus of Nazareth, and the leader of the early Christian church after the death of Jesus. The Roman Catholic church considers him the first pope, attributing that position to Jesus saying about him in the New Testament, “this is the rock I will build my church on.” In fact, the name we associate with him means rock. His given name was Simon. He is often seen in the Gospels making bold statements that he cannot back up. Attempting to walk on water to meet Jesus, for example, and then suddenly realizing what he was doing, losing faith and sinking. He also insisted that he would not deny Jesus after he was arrested. Instead, he denied him three times. In the end, though, he remained steadfast, being crucified in Rome under emperor Nero. According to tradition, he was crucified upside down at his own request because he did not feel worthy to be crucified the same way Christ was.

11. gentiles

A term that basically means non-Jew. It is the term used in the New Testament to signify the non chosen people. When the Jews do not choose to believe that Jesus is the Christ or the Messiah in the Acts of the Apostles, Peter and the other leaders of the early Christian church take the message to them instead, starting the meteoric rise of Christianity.

12. St. Paul of Tarsus

Largely considered the most important person in the spread of Christianity, particularly in the early church. Originally, going by the name Saul, he was one of the main persecutors of the early Christian church, seeing them as heretics. According to the Acts of the Apostles, he was blinded on the road to Damascus, where he was going to bring Christians to justice, and spoken to by the risen Jesus, who challenged him about persecuting his followers. He was directed to a follower of Jesus named Ananais of Damascus, who cured his blindness. After this, he switched course and used his same charismatic persona to bring people to the Christian church. Because he was a Roman citizen, he had an easier time traveling and spreading the religion. He started and guided many churches, and most of those teachings saved in the New Testament. In fact, he wrote 14 of the 27 books of the New Testament. There is no record of his death, but Christian tradition holds that he was beheaded in Rome in the time of Nero.

13. Seven Sacraments

According to the Roman Catholic church they are outward and visible signs the indicate an inward and spiritual grace. They include:

Baptism: Immersing in water or having water poured over the head as a sign of acceptance into the Christian church.

Confirmation: A service, generally requiring the participant to be at least 13, in which the participant actively accepts the faith and are sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Eucharist: A reenacting of the Last Supper of Jesus with his disciples. Bread is given to eat as representative of the body of Christ, while wine is used to represent the blood of Christ. It is the distribution of this sacrament that led many Romans to believe the Christians were cannibals.

Confession: Christians admitting to and receiving divine mercy for their sins. It is by this sacrament that Christians are freed from sins committed after Baptism.

Holy Matrimony: The joining together of a man and a woman as one unit, mimicking the joining of Adam and Eve.

Holy Orders: The taking of oaths to be a priest in the Roman Catholic church.

Final Unction: Also known as Last Rites (though it is one of three Last Rites along final Confession and Viaticum or Final Eucharist). It is basically an annoiting of the sick.

14. Seven Deadly Sins

A Western religious grouping and classification of vices. This grouping emerged in the fourth century AD and was used for Christian ethical education and for confession. The tradition of seven deadly sins as we know it today originated with the desert fathers, specifically Evagrius Ponticus. Evagrius identified seven or eight evil thoughts or spirits that one needed to overcome. Evagrius' pupil John Cassian brought that tradition to Europe with his book The Institutes. The is an accompanying seven holy virtues in contrast. The list consists of:

Pride: The overwhelming belief in one’s self or abilities.

Sloth: Laziness or severe procrastination or inaction.

Wrath: Extreme anger leading to violence and other action.

Lust: Extreme sexual desire in thought and action.

Envy: The desire to have what other’s have and the belief that one is more worthy of those things.

Gluttony: Excessive devotion to and intake of food and drink.

Avarice: Extreme desire for material things and the accumulation of material things, often at the expense of others.

15. Seven Holy Virtues
Unlike the seven deadly sins, these are a combination of two sets of virtues. The first four cardinal virtues come from Ancient Greece, and the last three theological virtues come from St. Paul’s letters, specifically in his first letter to the city of Corinth. They do not have a 1-to-1 correlation with the deadly sins as a result.

    Four cardinal virtues

Prudence: Using reason to think ahead.

Justice: Not having more or less than one’s fair share, the moderation between selfishness and selflessness

Temperance: Moderation or self-restraint

Courage: The willingness to confront danger, pain, agony, uncertainty and intimidation.

    Three theological virtues

Faith: The act of trust and self-abandonment when people no longer rely on their own strength but the strength of God.

Hope: In general, the term means the desire for something to happen and the belief that it will, but religiously it applies to the desire for the divine union between God and man.

Charity: Applying God’s love to man in the form of friendship and help. Sometimes just referred to as love/

16. catacombs

The system of underground tombs between the 2nd and 3rd milestones of the Appian Way in Rome, where the bodies of the apostles Peter and Paul, among others, were said to have been buried. All the Roman ones were located outside city walls since it was illegal to bury a dead body within the city, providing a place where martyrs tombs could be openly marked and commemorative services and feasts held safely on sacred days. It also gave the Christians a place to hold services as people were far less likely to be strolling through them for fun.

17. IXOYE (Ichthus)
Literally, the word means fish in Greece, but it was an acrostic used by early Christians.

    Iota (i) is the first letter of Iesous, Greek for "Jesus".
    Chi (ch) is the first letter of Christos, Greek for "anointed".
    Theta (th) is the first letter of Theou Greek for "God's", the genitive case of Teó?, Theos, Greek for "God".
    Upsilon (y) is the first letter of (h)uios, Greek for "Son".
    Sigma (s) is the first letter of soter, Greek for "Savior".

So together it became – Jesus Christ, God’s Son, Savior – corresponding with the basic tenet’s of the Christian faith. The early Christians used it as a symbol to avoid detection by the Roman Empire.
 
18. The Great Fire of Rome

An urban fire that started on the night between 18 and 19 July in the year 64 CE. It caused widespread devastation, before being brought under control after six days. Differing accounts either blame Emperor Nero for initiating the fire or credit him with organizing measures to contain it and provide relief for refugees. In response to the accusations that he was responsible for the fire Nero blamed the devastation on the Christian community in the city, initiating the empire's first persecution against the Christians.[

19. Ante-Nicene Period
This refers to the period following the Apostolic Age of the 1st century down to the First Council of Nicaea in 325. This portion of Christian history is important, having a significant impact on the unity of doctrine across all Christendom and the spreading of Christianity to a greater area of the world

20. heresy
It denotes the formal denial or doubt of a core doctrine of the Christian faith as defined by one or more of the Christian churches. It should be distinguished from both apostasy and schism, apostasy being nearly always total abandonment of the Christian faith after it has been freely accepted, and schism being a formal and deliberate breach of Christian unity and an offence against charity without being based essentially on doctrine. In Western Christianity, it most commonly refers to those beliefs which were declared to be anathema by any of the ecumenical councils recognized by the Catholic Church. In the East, the term is eclectic and can refer to anything at variance with Church tradition. Since the Great Schism and the Protestant Reformation, various Christian churches have also used the concept in proceedings against individuals and groups opposed to individual churches or systems of belief.

21. The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire

A book of history written by the English historian Edward Gibbon, which traces the trajectory of Western civilization (as well as the Islamic and Mongolian conquests) from the height of the Roman Empire to the fall of Byzantium. The work covers the history of the Roman Empire, Europe, and the Catholic Church from 98 to 1590 and discusses the slow fall of the empire in the East and West. Because of its relative objectivity and heavy use of primary sources, unusual at the time, its methodology became a model for later historians. This led to Gibbon being called the first "modern historian of ancient Rome". According to Gibbon, the Roman Empire succumbed to barbarian invasions in large part due to the gradual loss of civic virtue among its citizens.They had become weak, outsourcing their duty to defend their empire to barbarian mercenaries, who then became so numerous and ingrained that they were able to take over the Empire. Romans, he believed, were unwilling to live a tougher, military lifestyle. In addition, Gibbon argued that Christianity created a belief that a better life existed after death, which fostered an indifference to the present among Roman citizens, thus sapping their desire to sacrifice for a larger purpose.

22. Phoebe

A first-century Christian woman mentioned by the Apostle Paul in his Epistle to the Romans, verses 16:1-2. A notable woman in the church of Cenchreae, she was trusted by Paul to deliver his letter to the Romans. In writing to the church that almost surely met in her home, Paul refers to her both as a deacon and as a helper or patron of many. This is the only place in the New Testament where a woman is specifically referred to with these two distinctions. Paul introduces her as his emissary to the church in Rome and, because they are not acquainted with her, Paul provides them with her credentials. She is one of the best examples of women having leadership roles in the early Christian church.

23. paganism

A term that developed among the Christian community of southern Europe during late antiquity to describe religions other than their own, Judaism, or Islam–the three Abrahamic religions. Throughout Christendom, it continued to be used, typically in a derogatory sense. In the 19th century, it was re-adopted as a self-descriptor by members of various artistic groups inspired by the ancient world. In the 20th century, it came to be applied as a self-description by practitioners of contemporary pagan, or neo-pagan, religious movements.

24. The Great Persecution

In 303, the Emperors Diocletian, Maximian, Galerius, and Constantius issued a series of edicts rescinding the legal rights of Christians and demanding that they comply with traditional Roman religious practices. Later edicts targeted the clergy and ordered all inhabitants to sacrifice to the Roman gods (a policy known as universal sacrifice). The persecution varied in intensity across the empire—weakest in Gaul and Britain, where only the first edict was applied, and strongest in the Eastern provinces. It failed to check the rise of the church. Although it resulted in death, torture, imprisonment, or dislocation for many Christians, the majority of the empire's Christians avoided punishment. The persecution did, however, cause many churches to split between those who had complied with imperial authority (the traditores), and those who had remained "pure". It officially came to an end in 324 with the Edict of Milan by Constantine.

25. Constantine the Great
Roman Emperor who took control of both sides of the Roman Empire in 324 C.E. He is most known for moving the capital from Rome to the tiny Greek city of Byzantium, which he built into a new city, which he called New Rome (it would later come to be named after him). Because the territory he built his new grand city had many Christians, he made Christianity legal in the Roman Empire, likely to be able to get enough workers (though some religious scholars maintain that he had a sympathy for Christianity). In any case, this marked a big step for Christianity as it was able to come out of the shadows. He is said to have converted to Christianity on his death bed.

26. Edict of Milan

A proclamation that permanently established religious toleration for Christianity within the Roman Empire. It was the outcome of a political agreement concluded in Milan between the Roman emperors Constantine I and Licinius in February 313.

    27. First Council of Nicaea

A council of Christian bishops convened in Nicaea in Bithynia by the Roman Emperor Constantine I in AD 325. This first ecumenical council was the first effort to attain consensus in the church through an assembly representing all of Christendom. It was presided over by Hosius of Corduba, a bishop from the West who followed the Pope who was the bishop of Rome and the Patriarch of the West. Its main accomplishments were settlement of the Christological issue of the nature of the Son of God and his relationship to God the Father, the construction of the first part of the Creed of Nicaea, establishing uniform observance of the date of Easter, and promulgation of early canon law.

28. New Rome

The name given by Constantine the Great to his grand new city on the Bosporus, until then know as Byzantium. Constantine never wanted the city to be named after himself, though after his death, it began to be referred to as Constantinople (though New Rome still was used as a subtitle of the city for some time after that). It would remain Constantinople until 1453 when it was destroyed by the Ottoman Turks, who turned it into a Muslim city and renamed it Istanbul, a name it still has today.

29. Constantinople

Rechristened from the Greek city of Byzantium in 324, it became the capital of the Roman Empire under Constantine the Great. When the empire later split, it remained the capital of the Eastern, richer half of the empire (later referred to as the Byzantine Empire), and became one of the largest and most important cities in the world. It is the only world city located on two continents, at the meeting between Europe and Asia. In the 12th century, the city was the largest and wealthiest European city and it was instrumental in the advancement of Christianity during Roman and Byzantine times. It was famed for its massive defenses. Eventually, it was captured by other Christians during the fourth Crusade, significantly weakening it in 1204 CE. This led to a slow decline that ended up with the Ottoman Turks eventually taking the city for the Muslims in 1453.

30. The Bosphorus Strait

One of the world’s most strategic waterways, it is the strait between the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara; it is an inundated valley that follows an irregular northeast-southwest course 20 miles long, 800-3600 yards wide, 100-395 feet deep. The name is interpreted in Greek as meaning "Ford of the Cow", from the legend of Io, one of the many lovers of Zeus, who swam across the sea here as a cow chased and continuously disturbed by flies sent by Hera. Known in Turkish as Bogazici (the Strait), it links the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmara and, with the Dardanelles Strait (in Canakkale), separates Europe from Asia. It is a former river valley which was drowned by the sea at the end of the Tertiary period. This is a very busy strait with many commercial ships and oil tankers, as well as local fishing and passenger boats. The current flows from north to south; however, a strong subsurface countercurrent with numerous points and coves sets up swirls and eddies that make navigation dangerous to the inexperienced.

31. Byzantine

A term used by Western Europeans to describe the later years of the Roman Empire when it was ruled in the East from the city of Constantinople. No one used this term from the movement of the capital to Constantinople in 324 all the way through the fall of the city to the Ottoman Turks in 1453. The first use of the term was in 1557, when German Historian Hieronymus Wolf published a history of the empire. It is named for the Greek name of the city prior to Constantine renaming it Constantinople. The term is useful for historians to distinguish it from the other half of the Roman Empire, and it caught on in the 19th century, however it fits more with the old Western Roman insult of that half of the empire where they called it the “Empire of the Greeks”. Because of the complexity of the empire, the word has also become an adjective that means complex or intricate or even characterized by elaborate scheming and intrigue, especially for the gaining of political power or favor.

32. St. Augustine of Hippo

An early Christian theologian and philosopher whose writings influenced the development of Western Christianity and Western philosophy. He is viewed as one of the most important Church Fathers in Western Christianity for his writings in the Patristic Era. Among his most important works are The City of God and Confessions. After his baptism and conversion to Christianity in 387, he developed his own approach to philosophy and theology, accommodating a variety of methods and perspectives. Believing that the grace of Christ was indispensable to human freedom, he helped formulate the doctrine of original sin and made seminal contributions to the development of just war theory (the theory that war had to be morally just).

33. Confessions

The name of an autobiographical work, consisting of 13 books, by St. Augustine of Hippo, written in Latin between 397 and 400 CE. The work outlines Augustine's sinful youth and his conversion to Christianity. It is widely seen as the first Western autobiography ever written, and was an influential model for Christian writers throughout the following 1,000 years, through the Middle Ages. It is not a complete autobiography, as it was written in his early 40s, and he lived long afterwards,

34. The City of God

A book of Christian philosophy written in Latin by Augustine of Hippo in the early 5th century CE. The book was in response to allegations that Christianity brought about the decline of Rome and is considered one of Augustine's most important works. The sack of Rome by the Visigoths in 410 left Romans in a deep state of shock, and many Romans saw it as punishment for abandoning traditional Roman religion for Christianity. In response to these accusations, and in order to console Christians, Augustine wrote this work, arguing for the truth of Christianity over competing religions and philosophies and that Christianity is not only not responsible for the Sack of Rome, but also was responsible for the success of Rome. He attempted to console Christians, writing that, even if the earthly rule of the Empire was imperiled, it was the heavenly city that would ultimately triumph. Christianity, he argued, should be concerned with the heavenly city, the New Jerusalem – rather than earthly politics.

35. Boethius

A Roman senator, consul, and philosopher of the early 6th century. He was born four years after Odoacer deposed the last Roman Emperor and declared himself King of Italy, and entered public service under Ostrogothic King Theodoric the Great, who later imprisoned and executed him in 524 on charges of conspiracy to overthrow him. While jailed, he composed his Consolation of Philosophy, a philosophical treatise on fortune, death, and other issues, which became one of the most popular and influential works of the Middle Ages.
 36. The Consolation of Philosophy

A work by the sixth-century philosopher Boethius that has been described as having had the single most important influence on the Christianity of the Middle Ages and early Renaissance and as the last great work of the Classical Period. Boethius wrote the work while in jail, having fallen from power very quickly due to what he perceived as false allegations and treachery, and that circumstance influenced the work. The text reflects on how evil can exist in a world governed by God, and how happiness can be attainable amidst fickle fortune, while also considering the nature of happiness and God. It has been described as "by far the most interesting example of prison literature the world has ever seen." Boethius writes the book as a conversation between himself and Lady Philosophy. She consoles Boethius by discussing the transitory nature of fame and wealth, and the ultimate superiority of things of the mind, which she calls the "one true good". She contends that happiness comes from within, and that one's virtue is all that one truly has.

37. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre

A church within the Christian Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem. The church contains, according to traditions dating back at least to the fourth century, the two holiest sites in Christendom: the site where Jesus of Nazareth was crucified, known as "Calvary" in Latin and "Golgotha" in Greek, and Jesus's empty tomb, where he is said to have been buried and resurrected. Within the church proper are the last four (or, by some definitions, five) Stations of the Via Dolorosa, representing the final episodes of Jesus' Passion. The church has been a major Christian pilgrimage destination since its creation in the fourth century, as the traditional site of the Resurrection of Christ, thus its original Greek name, Church of the Anastasis.

38. Via Dolorosa

Translated as "Way of Grief," "Way of Sorrows," "Way of Suffering" or simply "Painful Way", it is a street within the Old City of Jerusalem, held to be the path that Jesus walked on the way to his crucifixion. The winding route from the Antonia Fortress west to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre – a distance of about 2,000 feet – is a celebrated place of Christian pilgrimage. The current route has been established since the 18th century, replacing various earlier versions. It is today marked by nine of the 14 Stations of the Cross, with the remaining five stations being inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

39. Theodosius I

Roman Emperor from 379 to AD 395 CE. He was the last emperor to rule over both the eastern and the western halves of the Roman Empire. He also issued decrees that effectively made orthodox Nicene Christianity the official state church of the Roman Empire. He neither prevented nor punished the destruction of prominent Hellenistic temples of classical antiquity, including the Temple of Apollo in Delphi and the Serapeum in Alexandria. He dissolved the order of the Vestal Virgins in Rome. In 393, he banned the pagan rituals of the Olympics in Ancient Greece.  After his death, Theodosius' young sons Arcadius and Honorius inherited the East and West halves respectively, and the Roman Empire was never again re-united,  He fought two destructive civil wars, in which he defeated the usurpers Magnus Maximus and Eugenius at great cost to the power of the Empire.  He campaigned against Goths and other barbarians who had invaded the Empire; he failed to kill, expel, or entirely subjugate them, and after the Gothic War they established a homeland south of the Danube, in Illyricum, within the empire's borders.

40. Vestal Virgins

In ancient Rome, they were priestesses of Vesta, goddess of the hearth, the Roman version of the Greek goddess Hestia. Their College  and its well-being was regarded as fundamental to the continuance and security of Rome. They cultivated the sacred fire that was not allowed to go out. They were freed of the usual social obligations to marry and bear children, and took a vow of chastity in order to devote themselves to the study and correct observance of state rituals that were off-limits to the male colleges of priests.

41. Oracle at Delphi

Also called the Pythia, it was the name of any priestess throughout the history of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi, which was located on the slopes of Mount Parnassus, beneath the Castalian Spring on the north shore of the Corinthian Gulf in Greece. Each new priestess was selected after the death of the current priestess, and after the legendary death of a man, was always a woman, who surrendered her name and position upon becoming the oracle. The Pythia, established in the 8th century BCE was widely credited for her prophecies inspired by being filled by the spirit of god, in this case Apollo. The last recorded response of the oracle was given about 395 CE to Emperor Theodosius I, after he had ordered pagan temples to cease operation.

42. Magnus Maximus

A Western Roman Emperor from 383 to 388. In 383 as commander of Britain, he usurped the throne against emperor Gratian; and through negotiation with emperor Theodosius I the following year he was made emperor in Britannia and Gaul.  In 387 Maximus' ambitions led him to invade Italy, resulting in his defeat by Theodosius I at the Battle of the Save in 388. In the view of some historians his death marked the end of direct imperial presence in Northern Gaul and Britain. He is probably more important, however, for his prominent mention in Welsh legend as the founder of the Welsh people. In some versions he marries the Welsh princess Helen. Usually referred to by the name Macsen, he is mentioned in Historia Regum Brittanniae by Geoffrey of Monmouth and makes several appearances in Arthurian legends.

43. Ambrose of Milan

A bishop of Milan who became one of the most influential ecclesiastical figures of the 4th century. He was one of the four original doctors of the Church, and is the patron saint of Milan. He is notable for his influence on St. Augustine. He had an on again off again relationship with the emperor Theodosius. Showing his willingness to stand up to imperial authority, he excommunicated Theodosius for the massacre of 7000 people at Thessalonica in 390. He didn’t readmit the famed defender of Christianity to Eucharist until after several months of penance. Yet, he praised Theodosius’ suppression of paganism at his funeral. It was through his will and urging, in fact, that Theodosius, Gratian and Valentinian II all attacked paganism in the Roman Empire.

44. Serapeum of Alexandria
        
A temple built by Ptolemy III (reigned 246–222 BCE) and dedicated to Serapis, the syncretic Hellenistic-Egyptian god who was made the protector of Alexandria. By all detailed accounts, it was the largest and most magnificent of all temples in the Greek quarter of Alexandria. Besides the image of the god, the temple precinct housed an offshoot collection of the great Library of Alexandria. It was destroyed by a Christian crowd or Roman soldiers in 391 at the culmination of a struggle between Christians and pagans in the area. In Alexandria, Bishop Theophilus obtained legal authority over the temple of Dionysus, which he intended to turn into a church. During the renovations, the contents of subterranean spaces ("secret caverns" in the Christian sources) were uncovered and profaned, which allegedly incited crowds of non-Christians to seek revenge. The Christians retaliated, as Theophilus withdrew, causing the pagans to retreat into the this building, still the most imposing of the city's remaining sanctuaries, and to barricade themselves inside, taking captured Christians with them. These sources report that the captives were forced to offer sacrifices to the banned deities, and that those who refused were tortured (their shins broken) and ultimately cast into caves that had been built for blood sacrifices. A letter was sent by Theodosius to Theophilus, asking him to grant the offending pagans pardon and calling for the destruction of all pagan images, suggesting that these were at the origin of the commotion. Consequently, this building was leveled by Roman soldiers and monks called in from the desert, as were the buildings dedicated to the Egyptian god Canopus. This started a wave of destruction of non-Christian idols throughout Egypt.

45. Theophilus of Alexandria

Theologian and violent opponent of non-Christian religions, severe critic of heterodox influence among Christian writers and monks, and a major figure in the ecclesiastical politics of the Eastern Church of his day. Reputed to have been an intellectually gifted student he was chosen patriarch of Alexandria in 385 and soon began a campaign to destroy the non-Christian religious shrines of North Africa. With the permission of the emperor Theodosius I, he destroyed the renowned temples to the gods Mithra, Dionysius, and Serapis. Endowed with a fiery temperament, he obliterated all vestiges of these pagan shrines with a vengeance, even including the levelling (391) of the Serapeum with its irreplaceable collection of classical literature. He used the stone from the temples to construct new Christian churches.

46. Hypatia

A Greek mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher in Egypt, then a part of the Eastern Roman Empire. She was the head of the Neoplatonic school at Alexandria, where she taught philosophy and astronomy. According to contemporary sources, she was murdered by a Christian mob after being accused of exacerbating a conflict between two prominent figures in Alexandria: the governor Orestes and the Bishop of Alexandria. Some historians propose that her death marks the end of Classical Antiquity, marking the start of a period where scholarship is replaced by blind devotion to the church.

47. Winged Victory of Samothrace

A 2nd-century BCE marble sculpture of the Greek goddess Nike (Victory), famously missing its head. Since 1884, it has been prominently displayed at the Louvre and is one of the most celebrated sculptures in the world. It is considered the best Hellenistic sculpture that still exists in the modern world. It is 8 feet high. It was created not only to honor the goddess, Nike, but also to honor a sea battle. It conveys a sense of action and triumph as well as portraying artful flowing drapery, as though the goddess was descending to alight upon the prow of a ship. Modern excavations suggest that the Victory occupied a niche above a theater and also suggest it accompanied an altar that was within view of the ship monument of Demetrius I Poliorcetes.

48. Venus de Milo

An ancient Greek statue and one of the most famous works of ancient Greek sculpture. Created sometime between 130 and 100 BCE, it is believed to depict Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love and beauty. It is a marble sculpture, slightly larger than life size at 6'8. The arms and original plinth were lost following its discovery. From an inscription that was on its plinth, it is thought to be the work of Alexandros of Antioch; earlier, it was mistakenly attributed to the master sculptor Praxiteles. It is currently on permanent display at the Louvre Museum in Paris. The statue is named after the Greek island where it was discovered. 49. Arcadius

The eldest son of Theodosius I and his first wife Aelia Flaccilla, and brother of the Western Emperor Honorius. A weak ruler, his reign was dominated by a series of powerful ministers and by his wife, Aelia Eudoxia. His father was the last ruler of a united Roman empire. He gave the Eastern, better half to this eldest son, while the Western half went to his son Honorius. He ruled from 395-408 CE.

50. Flavius Rufinus

A 4th-century Eastern Roman Empire statesman of Gaulish extraction who served as Praetorian prefect of the East for the emperor Theodosius I, as well as his son Arcadius, under whom he was the actual power behind the throne until his death in 395 CE.  He basically ruled the Eastern Roman Empire in the year after Theodosius died because he exercised great influence over the young Emperor Arcadius. He attempted to further join himself to Arcadius by marrying his daughter to the young emperor, however this plan was stymied by another of the imperial ministers, Eutropius. He hated the western magister Stilicho, and that proved to be his downfall.  His influence over Arcadius prevented Stilicho from crushing Alaric when the Roman general had the chance. Stilicho had trapped Alaric and the Visigoths in Greece in 395, but his Eastern troops were commanded by Arcadius, who, under his suggestion, recalled them, so that Stilicho was forced to return his forces west across the border. However, the same Gothic mercenaries under Gainas he had recalled killed him on 27 November 395.

51. Aelia Eudoxia

The wife of the emperor Arcadius, known for being extremely beautiful and extremely sure of herself, which general got her bad press in the male-dominated world view of the 4th and 5th century. She married the young emperor in 395 CE, three months after his father’s death. After becoming empress, she lived fewer than ten years, but during that time, she fulfilled her "natural" and political role admirably, producing seven children, five of whom survived infancy, including a son, Theodosius, born in 401, who would succeed his father as emperor. She proved also to be an influential empress. Although much of the blame laid on her for her role in court politics may have been misplaced, she did involve herself personally and energetically in church affairs, which brought her into conflict with John Chrysostom, the patriarch of Constantinople, who railed against her in multiple sermons. She was also condemned as Jezebel, and it was suggested when her son was born that Arcadius was not his father--that he was the result of her affair with a member of the court at Constantinople. And then, of course, there is the dreadful charge that she was "arrogant," that there was in her "no little insolence," and that she was "abnormally willful." So with all that venom directed at her, she apparently was fairly effective.

52. Honorius
        
The younger son of emperor Theodosius I and his first wife Aelia Flaccilla, and brother of Arcadius, he ruled the Western Roman Empire from 393 to 423 CE.. Even by the standards of the rapidly declining Western Empire, Honorius's reign was precarious and chaotic. His reign was supported by his principal general, Stilicho, who was successively his guardian (during his childhood) and his father-in-law (after the emperor became an adult). Stilicho's generalship helped preserve some level of stability, but with his execution in 408, the Western Roman Empire moved closer to collapse. He is widely considered as one of the worst of the emperors; it was during his reign that Rome was sacked for the first time in 800 years. His main concern was about appearances and being though of as a good emperor, which he failed at mightily.

53. Flavius Stilicho

A high-ranking general (magister militum) in the Roman army who became, for a time, the most powerful man in the Western Roman Empire. Half Vandal and married to the niece of the Emperor Theodosius, his regency for the underage Honorius marked the high point of German advancement in the service of Rome. After many years of victories against a number of enemies, both barbarian and Roman, a series of political and military disasters finally allowed his enemies in the court of Honorius to remove him from power, culminating in his arrest and subsequent execution in 408. Known for his military successes and sense of duty, he was, in the words of historian Edward Gibbon, “the last of the Roman generals.”

54. Visigoths

One of a number of Germanic peoples scattered by the advance of the Huns. They took refuge south of the Danube under the protection of the Roman Empire. When that “protection” was revealed to consist of abuse, fraud, and starvation, they rebelled and caused disorder in Rome’s Balkan provinces. When the emperor Valens sent in the army to restore order, Goths led by Fritigern shattered the Roman army at Adrianople (378), where Valens was killed. For the next forty years, groups of them wandered the Roman world searching for a place to settle. In 410 led by Alaric they sacked Rome itself. By the middle of the fifth century, the they had settled in southern Gaul (the “kingdom of Toulouse”) and the Iberian peninsula. Christians among them, like those among their Ostrogothic and Vandalic neighbors, subscribed to the heretical “Arian” beliefs, which caused conflict with their Roman subjects until their kings converted at a 589 church council. Driven out of southern Gaul by the hostile Franks, they retained control over most of what is now Spain until their king Roderic was killed by Islamic invaders from North Africa in 711.

55. Alaric

The first King of the Visigoths from 395–410, son (or paternal grandson) of chieftain Rothestes. He is best known for his sack of Rome in 410, which marked a decisive event in the decline of the Roman Empire. At one point, he fought for the Eastern Roman Empire. In 394 he led a Gothic force of 20,000 that helped the Eastern Roman Emperor Theodosius defeat the Frankish usurper Arbogast at the Battle of Frigidus. Despite sacrificing around 10,000 of his men, he received little recognition from the Emperor. Disappointed, he left the army and was elected reiks of the Visigoths in 395. In 401 he invaded Italy, but he was defeated by Stilicho at Pollentia (modern Pollenza) on April 6, 402. A second invasion that same year also ended in defeat at the Battle of Verona, though he forced the Roman Senate to pay a large subsidy to the Visigoths.  In 408, Western Emperor Flavius Honorius ordered the execution of Stilicho and his family, amid rumors that the general had made a deal with him. Honorius then incited the Roman population to massacre tens of thousands of wives and children of foederati Goths serving in the Roman military. Subsequently, around 30,000 Gothic soldiers defected to him, and joined his march on Rome to avenge their murdered families. The Visigothic leader thereupon laid siege to Rome in 408. Eventually, the Senate granted him a substantial subsidy. In addition, he forced the Senate to liberate all 40,000 Gothic slaves in Rome. In 409 the Visigoths again surrounded Rome. He lifted his blockade after proclaiming Attalus as Western Emperor. Negotiations with Honorius broke down, and he deposed Attalus in the summer of 410, and besieged Rome for the third time. Allies within the capital opened the gates for him on August 24, and for three days his troops sacked the city. Although the Visigoths plundered Rome, they treated its inhabitants humanely and burned only a few buildings. Having abandoned a plan to occupy Sicily and North Africa after the destruction of his fleet in a storm, he died as the Visigoths were marching northward.

56. Ravenna

It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire from 402 until that empire collapsed in 476. It then served as the capital of the Kingdom of the Ostrogoths until it was re-conquered in 540 by the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire. Although an inland city, it is connected to the Adriatic Sea by the Candiano Canal. Honorius preferred it as a capital to Rome because it had swamp to one side and water to the other, making it highly defensible. Because he was in this city, it made it easier to ignore the suffering of his people when Alaric and the Visigoths were blockading Rome.


57. Olympius

A horrible advisor and chancellor to the Western Roman Emperor Honorius and likely the biggest reason that Rome fell to the Visigoths. He orchestrated the fall and execution of the capable general Stilicho, who had effectively been ruling the Western Roman Empire as regent of Honorius for over twelve years. After Stilicho turned to his old rival Alaric (king of the Visigoths) for help against other barbarian tribes, he planted ideas in Honorius head that Stilicho was entertaining treasonable plans. He convinced Honorius to have Stilicho and his family executed. After Stilicho's execution, he prompted Honorius to take a more hostile stance toward the Goths, mostly notably Alaric I, who had previously been cooperating with the Romans. Through Honorius, he orchestrated the massacre of tens of thousands of wives and children of Goths serving in the Roman military. Subsequently, around 30,000 Gothic soldiers defected to Alaric and took part in the first Sack of Rome, a key event in the fall of the Western Roman Empire

58. Priscus Attalus

Twice Roman usurper (in 409 and in 414), against Emperor Honorius, with Visigothic support. He was the last non-Christian Roman emperor. He was twice proclaimed emperor by the Visigoths, in an effort to impose their terms on the ineffectual Emperor Honorius, in Ravenna. He held the title of Emperor in Rome, during 409, and later in Burdigala in 414. His two reigns lasted only a few months; the first one ended when Alaric believed it was hampering his negotiations with Honorius, and the second came to an end after he was abandoned by the Visigoths and eventually captured by Honorius' men. He was obliged to participate in the triumph Honorius celebrated in the streets of Rome in 416, before finishing his days exiled in the Aeolian Islands.

59. Sarus

A Gothic chieftain and commander for the emperor Honorius. He was known for his hostility to the prominent Gothic brothers-in-law Alaric I and Ataulf, and was the brother of Sigeric, who ruled the Goths briefly in 415. He had been induced to mutiny by Stilicho before he was recalled to Rome and joined the Romans. After the fall of Stilicho, his name was put forward as Stilicho's successor as the most suitable candidate for the office of supreme commander, but the Emperor Honorius refused to promote him. We next hear of him in 410, apparently subsisting independently in the region of Picenum. Ataulf, who was coming to join his brother-in-law Alaric, decided to attack him in passing and he, thinking his force of three hundred would be no match for the Gothic army, fled to Honorius. Later that year, when Alaric was conducting negotiations with Honorius near Ravenna, he attacked Alaricwith his warband, seemingly on his own initiative. This prompted Alaric to finally give up on negotiations and sack Rome on August 24.

60. Galla Placidia

Daughter of the Roman Emperor Theodosius I, she was the sister of Roman emperors Arcadius (East) and Honorius (West) and a major force in Roman politics for most of her life. She was in Rome when the Visigoths first blockaded it and then sacked it. She was taken prisoner by the Goths, but treated well and eventually became was consort to Ataulf, King of the Goths from 414 until his death in 415. She later served as regent for Valentinian III, her son from her second husband, from 423 to 437, when he turned 18.

61. Ataulf

King of the Visigoths from 410 to 415. During his reign, he transformed the Visigothic state from a tribal kingdom to a major political power. He was the main general for his brother-in-law Alaric when the Visigoths sacked Rome in 410 CE, and he took personal responsibility for the safety of the emperor’s sister Galla Placidia when they captured her. He took over as king of the Visigoths later that year after the death of Alaric to fever. Later, he considered helping the Gallic Jovinus when Jovinus tried to usurp the throne from Honorius in 413. Jovinus chose instead to work with his sworn enemy Sarus, so he attacked and killed Sarus. After Jovinus then named his brother Sebastianus as co-emperor, he captured Sabastianus and Jovinus, who were both beheaded. When the heads of the usurpers were sent to Honorius, it improved their relationship to the point where Honorius gave blessing to his marriage to Galla Placidia. His relationship with Honorius soured and he moved the Goths to Hispania. He and Galla Placidia had a son who they named Theodosius, but the son died a year later. In 415, one of Sarus’ men worked their way into his service, and murdered him in the bath.
    
62. Fall of Western Rome

The process of decline in the Western Roman Empire in which it failed to enforce its rule, and its vast territory was divided into numerous successor polities. The Roman Empire lost the strengths that had allowed it to exercise effective control; modern historians mention factors including the effectiveness and numbers of the army, the health and numbers of the Roman population, the strength of the economy, the competence of the Emperor, the religious changes of the period, and the efficiency of the civil administration. Increasing pressure from "barbarians" outside Roman culture also contributed greatly to the collapse. Irreversible major territorial loss however began in 376 with a large-scale irruption of Goths and others. By 476, when the Odoacer deposed the Emperor Romulus, the Western Roman Emperor wielded negligible military, political, or financial power and had no effective control over the scattered Western domains that could still be described as Roman. Of note, the Roman Empire had moved its capital to Constantinople, and that city would not fall until 1453 CE, but some mark the 476 CE date as the fall of the empire.

63. Vandals

One of several peoples who crossed the frozen Rhine River into Roman Gaul on New Years’ Eve, 406. From Gaul they moved into Spain and across the Strait of Gibraltar to attack Roman Africa. By 439 they had occupied Carthage, gaining control of the grain trade and possession of a substantial navy. This they used to embark on a second career as Mediterranean pirates; their sack of Rome in 455 under King Gaiseric was reputedly much more destructive than the Visigothic one 45 years earlier. The ravages of the them so dismayed Roman observers that “vandalism” still indicates senselessly destructive behavior. Like the Ostrogoths, they were targets of the Byzantine emperor Justinian’s attempted reconquest of the western Mediterranean; Justinian’s general Belisarius smashed their army at Tricamerum in December 533. The artists of the Renaissance depicted them as crude barbarians who destroyed everything beautiful. Though modern historians argue that it is quite possible that the reports of what they did to the city were overblown.

64. Odoacer

The first king of Italy. His reign marked the end of the Roman Empire; he deposed the last emperor, Romulus Augustulus, on 4 September 476 CE. He was a soldier in the Roman army who ascended through the ranks to general and was then chosen to rule after the mercenary general Orestes refused to grant land in Italy to his soldiers, and they proclaimed him as their leader. The Roman senate approved his leadership and awarded him the honorary status of a patrician. He provided his soldiers with the land he had promised, ruled in accordance with the precepts of the Roman Empire, and governed Italy judiciously until he was defeated in battle and then assassinated by Theodoric the Great of the Ostrogoths (475-526 CE).

65. Catacomb of Priscilla

One of the best examples of the Roman catacombs that Christian churches used to meet in the time before the legalization of Christianity. It sits on the Via Salaria, with its entrance in the convent of the Benedictine Sisters of Priscilla. It is mentioned in all of the most ancient documents on Christian topography and liturgy in Rome; because of the great number of martyrs buried within it, it was called “regina catacumbarum – the queen of the catacombs.” Originally dug out from the second to fifth centuries, it began as a series of underground burial chambers. This cemetery was lost like all the others after the entrances were blocked to protect it from thievery; however, it was also one of the first to be rediscovered, in the sixteenth-century.

66. Santa Sabina

An early fifth century Roman basilica and church that helps us to understand the essential characteristics of the early Christian basilica because it is still standing. It has a dominant central axis that leads from the entrance to the apse, the site of the altar. This central space is known as the nave, and is flanked on either side by side aisles. The architecture is relatively simple with a wooden, truss roof. The wall of the nave is broken by clerestory windows that provide direct lighting in the nave. The wall does not contain the traditional classical orders articulated by columns and entablatures. Now plain, the walls apparently originally were decorated with mosaics. Unlike the Pantheon, the nave wall of this church has little sense of weight. The architect was particularly aware of the light effects in an interior space like this. The glass tiles of the mosaics would create a shimmering effect and the walls would appear to float. Light would have been understood as a symbol of divinity. Light was a symbol for Christ. The emphasis in this architecture is on the spiritual effect and not the physical.

67. Cicero

Born on January 3, 106 BCE and murdered on December 7, 43 BCE His life coincided with the decline and fall of the Roman Republic, and he was an important actor in many of the significant political events of his time, and his writings are now a valuable source of information to us about those events. Though he is better remembered today for his role in the political life of the Roman Republic, the man sometimes known as “Tully” because of his middle name, was also a significant philosopher. He described the ideal state in such dialogues as On the Republic and On the Laws, while he discussed Epicurean and Stoic views on religion in On the Nature of the Gods. Through the Middle Ages and Renaissance, he was considered one of the most important of ancient philosophers. Indeed, Saint Augustine asserted that he turned to philosophy as a result of reading a now-lost work by Cicero known as the Hortensius. St. Augustine claimed that reading Hortensius turned him away from a sinful life toward philosophy and ultimately to God. St. Augustine adopted his definition of a commonwealth and used it in his argument that Christianity was not responsible for the destruction of the Roman empire by barbarians.

68. Ovid

A Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace with whom he is often ranked as one of the three canonical poets of Latin literature. He enjoyed enormous popularity, but, in one of the mysteries of literary history, he was sent by Augustus into exile in a remote province on the Black Sea, where he remained until his death. He himself attributes his exile to carmen et error, "a poem and a mistake", but his discretion in discussing the causes has resulted in much speculation among scholars. The first major Roman poet to begin his career during the reign of Augustus, he is today best known for the Metamorphoses, a 15-book continuous mythological narrative written in the meter of epic, and for collections of love poetry in elegiac couplets, especially the Amores ("Love Affairs") and Ars Amatoria ("The Art of Love"). His poetry was much imitated during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, and greatly influenced Western art and literature. The Metamorphoses remains one of the most important sources of classical mythology.

69. Horace

The leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus. His Odes are one of his most cited works for brilliance. He also crafted elegant hexameter verses (Sermones and Epistles) and caustic iambic poetry (Epodes). The hexameters are amusing yet serious works, friendly in tone, leading the ancient satirist Persius to comment: "as his friend laughs, he slyly puts his finger on his every fault; once let in, he plays about the heartstrings". His career coincided with Rome's momentous change from Republic to Empire. An officer in the republican army defeated at the Battle of Philippi in 42 BC, he was befriended by Octavian's right-hand man in civil affairs, Maecenas, and became a spokesman for the new regime.

70. Tacitus

A senator and a historian of the Roman Empire. The surviving portions of his two major works – the Annals and the Histories – examine the reigns of the Roman Emperors Tiberius, Claudius, Nero, and those who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors (69 CE). These two works span the history of the Roman Empire from the death of Augustus in 14 CE to the years of the First Jewish–Roman War in 70 CE. He is considered to be one of the greatest Roman historians. He lived in what has been called the Silver Age of Latin literature. He is known for the brevity and compactness of his Latin prose, as well as for his penetrating insights into the psychology of power politics. He referred to Christ, his execution by Pontius Pilate, and the existence of early Christians in Rome in one page of his final work, Annals (written ca. 116 CE), book 15, chapter 44. The context of the passage is the six-day Great Fire of Rome that burned much of the city in 64 CE during the reign of Roman Emperor Nero. The passage is one of the earliest non-Christian references to the origins of Christianity, the execution of Christ described in the canonical gospels, and the presence and persecution of Christians in 1st-century Rome.

71. Juvenal

 A Roman poet active in the late 1st and early 2nd century CE, author of the Satires. The details of the author's life are unclear, although references within his text to known persons of the late 1st and early 2nd centuries CE tell us when he was writing. While the Satires are a vital source for the study of ancient Rome from a vast number of perspectives, their hyperbolic, comic mode of expression makes the use of statements found within them as simple fact problematic. At first glance the Satires could be read as a critique of pagan Rome, which may be why the Christians didn’t destroy them when they came to power. He is the source of many well-known maxims, including:

~that the common people – rather than caring about their freedom – are only interested in “bread and circuses”

~that – rather than for wealth, power, eloquence or children – men should pray for a “sound mind in a sound body”

~that a perfect wife is a “rare bird” (often compared to a black swan)

~and the troubling question of who can be trusted with power – “who will watch the watchers?” or “who will guard the guardians themselves?”

72. rhetoric

The art of discourse, an art that aims to improve the capability of writers or speakers to inform, most likely to persuade, or motivate particular audiences in specific situations. As a subject of formal study and a productive civic practice, it has played a central role in the European tradition. Its best known definition comes from Aristotle, who considers it a counterpart of both logic and politics, and calls it "the faculty of observing in any given case the available means of persuasion."